Rajshekar Patil, MLA and member of the board of directors of Bidar Sahakari Sakkare Karakhane, has sought the State government’s intervention in saving the debt-ridden sugar factory.
“I have already requested the Ministers concerned to release money to the factory for starting this year’s crushing operations. I will also request Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to ensure that the factory buys sugarcane from farmers and produces sugar so that it brings in some revenue,” Mr. Patil told presspersons in Bidar on Wednesday.
He denied allegations of interference and harassment made by Sanjay Kheny, who resigned as factory chairman a few days ago. “Neither me, nor my brother Bheem Rao, who is a fellow director, nor my followers have interfered in Mr. Kheny’s administration. All charges of harassing him or any other board member or officer are false,’’ he said.
'Irregularities'
Mr. Patil accused Mr. Kheny of indulging in irregularities. He alleged that Mr. Kheny sold sugar for less than the market price, wasted crores of rupees on equipment maintenance and spent Rs. 8-10 crore on unspecified issues. Board members have objected to all these issues in writing, he said. He said an inquiry into the affairs of the factory ordered by the Cooperation Department under Section 64 of the Karnataka Cooperative Societies Act was nearing completion and would “expose who was responsible for the irregularities.” He clarified that he had no intention of becoming the chairman of the factory’s board.
BSSK is the oldest sugar factory in the district. It was established in 1961 and it started crushing in 1969. It was set up at a cost of Rs. 3 crore on 170 acres of land in Hallikhed-Bujurg village in Humnabad taluk. It has around 1,000 full-time and part-time employees and has the capacity to crush 3,500 tonnes of sugarcane per day. However, due to inefficient management and delay in payment of arrears to farmers, it debts have increased to around Rs. 210 crore. Its sugar yield rate percentage has been unstable, moving from 9.7 to 10.5. Successive managements have been accused of selling sugar for lesser than market price and appointing unnecessary staff for political considerations. Its crushing capacity has been uneven too. It crushed 6.3 lakh tonnes in 2008 but in 2015, it could crush only 65,000 tonnes.
